《儒林外史》这部小说对于各类士人的描述内容最多，但同时也出现了许多其它社会阶层的成员，尤其是对于商人的描述占据很大分量；而对他们的刻画也主要是在写文士与商人的交游中表现出来的。在这些众多商人中，作品中刻画最深刻的是在扬州行盐兼设典铺的安徽籍商人。 关于《儒林外史》中的人物研究，很多是对各类士人以及兼有士人身份的封建官僚和地主豪绅的分析研究。本文则是对《儒林外史》中的盐典商人做分析研究，希望可以达到深入研究的目的。主要从《儒林外史》所反映的盐业典当商人情况入手，并分析盐典商人和作品中描写的士绅的关系，探讨作者刻画这些人物的作用。

In the "Ru Lin Wai Shi" this novel, for a description of various scholars is the most content.But the works also appeared in many other sectors of society members, especially the description of the business had a lot of weight.And their characterization is mainly written scribes and merchants in the circle of friends in the manifest. In these many businessmen, the works depict the most profound is the line of salt and located in Yangzhou, Anhui membership code of shop business. On the character study in "Ru Lin Wai Shi", the most frequent of the analysis is about all scholars and scholars as both bureaucratic and feudal landed gentry. This is the "Ru Lin Wai Shi" in the salt code Analysis merchants do hope to achieve in-depth research purposes. Mainly from the "Ru Lin Wai Shi" reflected in the pawn business case starting salt and the salt works in the code of merchants and gentry described by the relationship of the role of these characters portray.